We lose OL Chance Warmack and Barrett Jones but we still have players that can come in and get the job done: Cyrus Kouandjio (5 Star recruit coming out of high school), Senior Anthony Steen (starter for both the '11 and '12 championship teams).

We lose RB Eddie Lacy but everyone should know about TJ Yeldon by now. Bruiser Jalston Fowler should be healthy for this season plus we keep a stable of RBs: Dee Hart, Kenyon Drake, Tyren Jones, Altee Tenpenny, and don't forget the incoming beast...Derrick Henry:

We lose top corner Dee Milliner but we have senior Deion Belue who should be a lot wiser this season. We have John Fulton and also Geno Smith who should be a star (minus his recent DUI). Lost safety Robert Lester to the NFL but we have Ha Ha Clinton-Dix who's also a star in the making (remember his INT in the National Championship game?), Landon Collins (5 star sophomore) could step in at one of the safety spots, we have senior Nick Perry, etc etc etc.

Lost DT Jesse Williams to the NFL but we have a [expletive]load of defensive linemen.

Forecast: What Alabama is attempting to do this season borders on the impossible. History dictates the Tide fall short of another national championship, but the talent assembled in Tuscaloosa, Ala., dictates otherwise. Despite losing nine starters to the NFL, Alabama is in good position for a three-peat thanks to back-to-back No. 1-ranked recruiting classes and six straight top five finishes overall.

But it's not just new faces like Reuben Foster and Derrick Henry that give Tide fans hope. They're simply the icing on a cake that already features a league-best 16 preseason All-SEC selections. The offense is loaded with a Heisman Trophy-caliber backfield and a wide receiver corps that's deeper and more talented than at any point in recent memory. The defense should be in good shape, too, with All-American linebacker C.J. Mosley back for his senior year and Butkus Award hopeful Adrian Hubbard poised for a breakout season.

No, the level of talent isn't in question at UA. And, no, the schedule isn't insurmountable, either. Getting Virginia Tech and Texas A&M back-to-back is a rough way to open the season, but Alabama won't have to face any of the SEC East power programs, and cupcakes like Georgia State and Chattanooga are basically third and fourth bye weeks. Rather, the real question is how this team handles expectations. "Championship or bust" is a familiar slogan for Saban and Co., but living in that kind of pressure-packed atmosphere can prove difficult.

Alabama wasn't perfect a season ago: the secondary was shaky, the pass rush was inconsistent and there were times where the run-pass balance on offense looked out of whack. A heartbreaking loss to Texas A&M nearly derailed the Tide. But a bizarre weekend where No. 1 and No. 2 in the polls both lost cleared the way, and Alabama gladly picked up the slack. Will UA get so lucky again? Or will this team take fate out of the equation, learn from its mistakes and realize its potential?